Photo courtesy of Steven Chen (PRNewsfoto/Ploughshares)
A new international initiative bringing together women leaders across politics, civil society, and global policy has been launched in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The initiative, called Women Transforming Global Security (WTGS), is a collaboration between Ploughshares, Horizon 2045, and The Elders.
It aims to expand women’s roles in shaping global security policy at a time of intensifying geopolitical tensions and growing transnational threats.
WTGS was introduced at the International Peace Institute and featured a lineup of prominent women leaders.
WTGS is structured as a global network of stateswomen, nonprofit executives, policy specialists, and experts from multiple fields including climate change, technology, public health, human rights, and nuclear security.
The intention is to broaden the perspectives influencing security debates and to address the root causes of conflict and insecurity.
Ploughshares President Dr. Emma Belcher said the initiative is intended to shift the terms of the discussion.
“Women Transforming Global Security is not just about adding women’s voices to old conversations it’s about changing the conversation itself. Together, we are laying the foundations of a security paradigm fit for the 21st century.”
Women have historically contributed to advancing arms control agreements, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding efforts, but remain underrepresented in the institutions where security policy is made.
WTGS seeks to change this by creating pathways for women and diverse communities to influence decisions on interconnected challenges.
According to the organizers, the network will emphasize security approaches that prioritize human and ecological wellbeing.
It will also focus on prevention rather than reaction, draw from varied forms of expertise, and invest in building trust across divides.
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and a member of The Elders, said the initiative comes at a time when global tensions are escalating.
“The Elders are delighted to support the launch of Women Transforming Global Security. As a young woman, I joined tens of thousands of women and men marching against nuclear weapons at the height of the Cold War in the 1970s and ’80s.”
“We need a similar sense of urgency and activism today as geopolitical tensions reach dangerous levels. Women’s perspectives are too often absent from these debates and need to be heard. This network can play a vital role in convening diverse voices, building trust and catalyzing action.”
The project’s emphasis is not limited to nuclear weapons.
It also includes climate change, emerging technologies, global health, and human rights areas where security concerns intersect and often reinforce one another.
Horizon 2045 President Erika Gregory said the approach is about reframing security itself.
“This initiative humanizes security rather than militarizing humanity, acknowledging the ways contemporary threats have converged to make so many of us feel less secure than ever before. Our response must be a more humane framework for global security that recognizes women are uniquely effective at generating the collaborative, practical solutions we need, based on the understanding that care for collective wellbeing is the foundation of authentic security.”
The WTGS network will support women leaders working at the intersections of these issues, with the aim of promoting cooperation over coercion in the global system.
By creating space for diverse forms of knowledge and lived experiences, the organizers argue that security policy can better reflect the realities of people and communities worldwide.
The launch event in New York marked the start of the initiative, but its scope is international.
Its backers say the network will provide opportunities for collaboration between women leaders across regions and sectors, with the ultimate goal of reshaping how global security is defined and practiced in the coming decades.
About The Elders
The Elders is a group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.
About Ploughshares
Ploughshares, led by Dr. Emma Belcher, is the largest nuclear weapons threat reduction organization and grantmaking foundation singularly committed to eliminating nuclear weapons and addressing intersecting security threats such as climate change, emerging technologies, public health crises and human rights violations.
Ploughshares utilizes its grantmaking to support the organizations and people who drive policies and activities that help make the world safer and more secure.
About Horizon 2045
Horizon 2045 is a nonprofit organization that works on security approaches through women’s leadership, governance innovation, international law, and philanthropy that considers the rights of future generations.
